The Packers, who earned the right to host a home playoff
game with a come-from-behind win on the last day of the regular
season, will have a sellout for its Lambeau Field game against
the San Francisco 49ers tomorrow after fans and a group of
corporate partners, led by Green Bay-based Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)
and including local Fox TV affiliates who will show the game,
bought the remaining tickets.

“A unique season and other factors contributed to having
tickets available, but with the support of our fans and partners,
we’re looking forward to a great atmosphere,” Packers President
and Chief Executive Officer Mark Murphy said in a statement.

Meijer Inc., a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based family-owned
retailer, agreed to buy the remaining 1,200 tickets to today’s
National Football League playoff game between the Colts and
Kansas City Chiefs at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and
distribute them to local military families, Colts owner Jim Irsay said on Twitter.

Military Benefit

After Kroger Co. (KR) purchased a “large quantity of tickets,”
also to be given to military families, “in an effort to assist
in reaching a sellout” for the Bengals’ game against the San
Diego Chargers on Sunday, the team completed the task yesterday
with support from Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. (PG)’s Tide,
Gillette, CoverGirl and Bounty brands. Those tickets also will
be given to military families, the Bengals said in a news
release.

The NFL two days ago gave the teams an extension to its
rule that allows for a blackout in local television markets if
games aren’t sold out 72 hours before kickoff. The Philadelphia
Eagles’ game today against the New Orleans Saints was the lone
first-round matchup sold out.

“We had a Week 17 in which 13 of 16 games had implications
on teams making the playoffs,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy
said by phone two days ago. “Part of the excitement of the NFL
is not knowing who’s going to the playoffs. It’s not as if teams
knew weeks and months prior and had fans making plans.”

Last Blackout

The NFL hasn’t had a postseason game blacked out since Jan.
10, 2002, when the Miami Dolphins hosted the Baltimore Ravens in
the opening round. Two regular-season games weren’t shown
locally in 2013.

The Bengals, who went 8-0 at home this season in winning
the American Football Conference’s North Division title, said
two days ago they had more than 7,000 tickets left.

The Colts had received an automatic 24-hour extension for
ticket sales because of the New Year’s Day holiday. After
getting a second extension from the NFL, the AFC South-champion
Colts said two days ago they had fewer than 3,500 tickets
available ranging in price from $56 to $155.

“We’re pleased to offer these,” Meijer said on Twitter
about buying the remaining Colts tickets. “We understand how
important it is to support the communities where our customers
and team work and live.”

In Green Bay, the gametime temperature is forecast to be
around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius), with a chance of it
being as low as -13 Fahrenheit. In a statement yesterday
afternoon, the team said Fox affiliates WITI in Milwaukee, WLUK
in Green Bay and WFXS in Wausau were among the purchasers of
tickets.

The NFL last month said it would strongly oppose a proposal
by U.S. regulators to eliminate the blackout rule, which was
created almost 40 years ago to promote attendance at games. The
league said the rule is important in supporting NFL stadiums and
the ability of teams to sell tickets.